Agenda
| 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM |
Registration & Networking |
| 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM |
Industry Panel |
| 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM |
Networking Reception |
Overview
On April 5, 2012 President Obama signed the JOBS Act bill into law. President Obama declared the JOBS Act (for �Jump-Start Our Business Start-Ups�) is a �potential game changer�. Indeed, funding for start-ups and emerging companies should become easier with an increased crowdfund cap and new IPO rules for example. However it does sound a bit risky to disclose your ideas to the whole world at a very early stage.
Key points that will be developed during this session include:
� Why and how to crowdfund your emerging company?
� Is crowdfunding a solution for your emerging company?
� Why do VCs and Angels get involved in crowdfunding?
� Do�s and Don�ts of crowd funding?
� What are the risks and how can you protect your company from them?
� Was a new legal and regulatory landscape created?
Join the real crowdfunding players for an interactive discussion on why and how to crowdfund your emerging company.
Our Panel discussions are candid, interactive and informal. We want you to walk away with the real story behind how things work so you can make it happen yourself. This Panel will be followed by a Networking Reception.
Venue
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
1100 Marsh Rd.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Click here for Venue Directions»
Panelists Bios
Danae Ringelmann, Co-Founder, Indiegogo
Danae Ringelmann co-founded
Indiegogo - the leading global crowdfunding platform - to democratize fundraising. She brings entertainment industry and finance expertise. Fast Company Magazine recently named her one of the Top 50 Women Innovators in Technology, while AWNY recently awarded Danae the "No Apologies" Changemaker award.
Passionate about empowering artists, causes and entrepreneurs with the knowledge and confidence to bring ideas into reality, Danae speaks often at conferences across the globe. Recent speaking engagements include TEDx Dubai, SXSW, Ireland Web Summit, MAD Hong Kong, TieCon, and Big Omaha.
Prior to Indiegogo, Danae was a Securities Analyst at Cowen & Co. where she covered entertainment companies including Pixar, Lions Gate, Disney, and Electronic Arts. Danae also focused on cable network, NFL, newspaper and hedge fund clientele while at JPMorgan's Investment Bank and Private Bank. In the wake of 9/11, Danae co-produced a concert reading of Incident at Vichy, an Arthur Miller play addressing the politically charged topic of racial profiling.
Jai Ranganathan, Co-founder, Scifund Challenge
Dr. Jai Ranganathan is a biologists � ecologists, actually � and spends too much time in the science online scene. Jai ran a weekly science podcast, called
Curiouser and Curiouser for Miller-McCune magazine. On Twitter, you can find Jai at
@jranganathan.
Click here for Jai's resume�
Click here for more info about the Scifund Challenge�
Sherwood (Woodie) Neiss, Principal, Crowdfund Capital Advisors, LLC
Sherwood Neiss, is an expert at building successful businesses, as a 3-time INC500 winner whose company won E&Y;'s Entrepreneur of the Year, Sherwood understands the keys to entrepreneurial success from concept to company to sale.
As a serial entrepreneur and investor during the credit crunch, Sherwood saw a need for a change in outdated securities laws and did something about it�as a co-founding member of Startup Exemption, Sherwood co-authored the Crowdfunding Framework used in the JOBS Act that was signed into law by President Obama on April 5, 2012.
Within Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA), Sherwood works with clients ranging from heads of state that are looking for ways to boost economic development in their countries to crowdfunding platforms looking to ensure they build sustainable businesses that benefit the market. He also produces comprehensive crowdfund Investing educational materials so that companies can decide whether crowdfunding is appropriate for their business as well as to help them access the essential tools to crowdfund safely, legally and successfully.
Sherwood co-founded the Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA), serving as a board member where he leads the fight to ensure investors are protected while entrepreneurs have access to the capital they need to start and grow promising companies.
An avid public speaker, Sherwood speaks at universities and seminars around the world discussing crowdfund investing, what it takes to be an entrepreneur and how to build winning companies. He also does a large amount of work presenting to government bodies, speaking in front of the U.S. Congress, leading SEC and FINRA meetings, as well as addressing foreign governments�testifying about how they can bring economic benefits to their citizenry through implementing their Crowdfund Investment Framework.
Sherwood started his post-MBA career on Wall Street and moved to Silicon Valley where he completed personal and financial goals in his late 20's he hoped to obtain in his 30's. Wondering what to do next and also left struggling with a debilitating family dilemma, he used his entrepreneurial drive to help turn his family adversity into a multi-million dollar company that today is helping millions of sick children, animals and adults get better by being more compliant with their medicines.
As the co-founder FLAVORx (www.flavorx.com), Sherwood structured an approach and built a business model that threw off millions of dollars in cash and while growing the business from one pharmacy to over 80% of the pharmacies in the United States. He raised millions of dollars in capital and saw the culmination of his endeavors with the sale of the company in 2007.
When not working, Sherwood is an avid traveler. He lived in Japan for a year and post-sale of FLAVORx took his second backpacking trip around the world. In addition to speaking at universities and businesses around the country he invests in real estate in the U.S. and Brazil, is part of a private equity group in Los Angeles, is working on a clean tech project in Puerto Rico and is involved with several other start-up ventures.
David Marlett, JD CPA, Executive Director, National Crowdfunding Association and Managing Director, Crowdfund International, LP
David Marlett is the Founder and Executive Director of the
National Crowdfunding Association, the world's largest trade association for crowdfunding. In addition, he is currently launching
Crowdfund International, a comprehensive crowdfunding consulting and software company. With 25+ years as an attorney and CPA, David has arranged financing for ventures across an array of industries including film (his specialty), energy, health, banking, real estate, tech, retail, and service. He is a repeat-entrepreneur, having launched many companies, initiatives, and campaigns nationwide. He has a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, and degrees in accounting, economics and finance. He blogs at
oncrowd9.blogspot.com and tweets
@CrowdFundUs.
Lead Facilitator:
Scott M. Iyama, Corporate Senior Associate, Emerging Companies Group Member, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Scott Iyama is a member of the Emerging Companies Group, which advises high growth companies and venture capital firms. Scott's practice includes the formation, financing and general corporate counseling of emerging growth private and public companies; representation of venture capital firms and investment banks in private and public offerings; and other strategic transactions. Scott has completed hundreds of private financings and numerous mergers, acquisitions and licensing transactions.
Prior to receiving his J.D. from Stanford Law School, Scott performed extensive biochemical research at the University of California, San Diego, and Genentech, Inc., and was a research intern at the NASA Ames Research Center.
